Method and apparatus for adhering foil to a surface

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for adhering foil to a given surface. The foil is initially supported at one face of a flexible carrier which must be stripped from the foil subsequent to the adhering thereof to the surface. The foil is adhered to the surface by heat-ironing brought about through suitable rollers, and subsequent to the adhering of the foil to the surface the carrier is continuously wound onto a stake-up roll so that the carrier is progressively from the foil to carry out the stripping operations. These stripping operations are brought about in part by movement of the surface and foil with respect to a stripping roll and in part by movement of the stripping roll with respect to the surface to which the foil is adhered, so that the extent to which the surface and foil must be fed is diminished by the extent to which the stripping roll is moved with respect to the surface and the foil adhering thereto. Also the carrier and foil are derived from a supply roll supported on a swingable frame which moves the supply roll from a given starting position to a given end position during the adhering of the foil to the surface, and a return structure returns the swingable frame back to its starting position after the operations are completed, so that in this way the edge of the foil which is first displaced toward the surface is backed up from the region of the last of the series of heat-ironing rollers to the region of the first thereof, thus reducing waste of foil.

United States Patent Alexander [4 1 Apr. 4, 1972 METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR ADHERING FOIL TO A SURFACE [72] Inventor: Martin J. Alexander,Tenafly, NJ.

[731 Assignees Admiral Coated Products, Inc.

[22] Filed: Oct. 8, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 864,845

[52] U.S. Cl ..156/247, 156/540, 156/344, 156/584, 156/233, 156/238 [51]Int. Cl. ..B32b 31/08, B32b 31/20 [58] Field of Search 1 56/230, 223,238, 247, 249,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,054,715 9/1962 White..156/540 X 3,21 1,603 10/1965 Kaehler 3,433,698 3/1969 Billings3,434,902 3/1969 Bliss ..l56/249 X [5 7] ABSTRACT A method and apparatusfor adhering foil to a given surface. The foil is initially supported atone face of a flexible carrier which must be stripped from the foilsubsequent to the adhering thereof to the surface. The foil is adheredto the surface by heat-ironing brought about through suitable rollers,and subsequent to the adhering of the foil to the surface the carrier iscontinuously wound onto a stake-up roll so that the carrier isprogressively from the foil to carry out the stripping opera tions.These stripping operations are brought about in part by movement of thesurface and foil with respect to a stripping roll and in part bymovement of the stripping roll with respect to the surface to which thefoil is adhered, so that the extent to which the surface and foil mustbe fed is diminished by the extent to which the stripping roll is movedwith respect to the surface and the foil adhering thereto. Also thecarrier and foil are derived from a supply roll supported on a swingableframe which moves the supply roll from a given starting position to agiven end position during the adhering of the foil to the surface, and areturn structure returns the swingable frame back to its startingposition after the operations are completed, so that in this way theedge of the foil which is first displaced toward the surface is backedup from the region of the last of the series of heat-ironing rollers tothe region of the first thereof, thus reducing waste of foil.

8 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures Patented April 4, 1972 6 Sheets-Sheet l BY7% 1% Arrdrff n Patented April 4, 1972 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORtZ/4LEXANOER IIII I III If ATTORNEYS Patented April 4, 1972 3,654,016

6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

WI! I mvsmon 4%? mV (I44 arm 05k BY 6% Mdaff ATTORNEY Patented April 4,1972 3,654,016

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 O O .JNVENTOR I 26 mm (/37; Xfl/V06? BY WWW, (Mi awATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a methodand apparatus for adhering foil to a given surface.

For example, the invention may be used for adhering decorative foilssimulating wood grains, for example, to the outer surfaces of cabinetsused for television sets and the like.

At the present time it is known to apply heat and pressure to the foilfor adhering the latter to a surface. The heat-ironing operations areprovided by way of suitable rollers which may act sequentially to bringabout the, adhering of the foil to the desired surface. The foil isconventionally carried by one face of a flexible carrier which must bestripped from the foil subsequent to the adhering of the latter to thesurface. During conventional stripping operations it does notinfrequently happen that the foil is damaged resulting in an undesirablylarge number of rejects. One of the primary factors resulting in thisundesirable action is the snatching of the carrier from the foil in amannerwhich, while intended to save time and increase production,results in frequent damaging of the foil with consequent undesirablerejects.

Furthermore, it is often necessary to situate the apparatus in a limitedspace which is not always sufficiently great to accommodate an apparatusof a given length.

Also, the foil is pressedwith heat against the surface by the sequentialaction of a series of rollers so that at the end of an operation theterminal edge of the foil is located in the region of the last of theseries of rollers while the foil is initially applied to the surface bythe first of the series of rollers, resulting at least in wasting offoil to the extent of the distance from the first to the last of theseries of rollers. This waste of foil also is highly undesirable becausethe repeated non-use of a given increment of foil adds up to aconsiderable amount of waste, with consequent lack of economy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present inventionto provide a method and apparatus which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide amethod and apparatus which will enable the carrier to be stripped fromthe foil after adhering of the latter to the surface, in such a way thatthe possibility of damage to the foil and rejects is very greatlyreduced.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide the method andapparatus which will enable the stroke through which parts must beadvanced to be substantially shortened, so that in this way thestructure can be situated in a relatively short space and at the sametime the parts can be moved through relatively short distances withconsequent advantages.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method andapparatus which will enable waste of the foil to be greatly reduced.

In general it is an object of the invention to provide a method andapparatus capable of accomplishing the above objects while at the sametime being very reliable in operation with considerable advantagesachieved not only by increased efficiency and economy but also by reasonof the rapidity of the operation which enables high outputs to beachieved.

According to the method and apparatus of the invention, during a givencycle of operations the carrier is continuously wound up onto a take-uproll while the carrier is progressively peeled from a foil which hasjust been adhered to a given surface, so that in this way a possibilityof damage to the foil is greatly reduced and a high output is achievedby way of the continuous operation. The stripping of the carrier fromthe foil takes place on one hand during movement of the foil and surfacewith respect to a stripper roll and on the other hand during movement ofthis latter stripper roll with respect to the foil and the surface towhich it adheres, so that as a result of these combinations of movementsit is possible for the strokes through which the components are moved tobe reduced and the space which is required to accommodate the apparatuscan also be reduced. Furthermore, the carrier with the foil carriedthereby are derived from a supply roll supported on a swingable framewhich during application of the foil to the surface swings in onedirection from a given starting position to a given end position. At theend of the cycle of operations the swingable frame is returned from itsend position to its starting position, with the result that the edge ofthe foil which 0 is to be applied to the next surface is backed up in amanner which will greatly reduce the extent to which foil is wasted, sothat in this way also substantial economies are achieved with the methodand apparatus of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective illustration of an apparatus of theinvention which is. adapted to carry out the method of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of .a workpiece which has foiladhered to a surface thereof;

FIG. 3 is a partly sectional side elevation of the apparatus of theinvention schematically illustrating various parts thereof;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary transverse end view of the structure of FIG. 3taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional illustration of astripper roll and guide rolls used in the stripping of the carrier andthe guiding of the latter to a take-up roll;

FIG. 6 shows the position which the parts of FIG. 5 take after ashifting means of the invention has acted on the stripper roll and a cammeans has acted on a cradle which carries the first of the series ofguide rolls;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts shown in FIG. 6, takenalong line 7-7 of FIG. 6 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIGS. 8-15 respectively illustrates schematically positions which theapparatus of the invention takes during successive steps in theoperation of the apparatus to carry out the method of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 2, thereis illustrated therein a plate or wall 20 which has a foil 22 adhered toits upper surface, as viewed in FIG. 2. This plate or wall 20 forms thework which is treated with the method and apparatus of the invention. Itmay be a wall of a cabinet such as a television cabinet or it may be anyflat plate on which a foil is to be provided. In the illustrated examplethe foil 22 is in the form of a thin coating which simulates woodgraining. It is capable of being adhered to the upper surface of theplate 20 by application of heat and pressure, so that the foil 22 isheat-ironed to the upper surface of the plate 20, in a well-known mannerwhere this action is conventional. Initially the foil 22 is carried byone surface of a flexible carrier through which the heat and pressureare applied to the foil 22 and this carrier must be stripped from thefoil 22 after the latter is adhered to the plate 20. It is during theoperations in connection with stripping of the carrier from the foilthat great care must be exercised to prevent damage to the foil, andthis is one of the problems which is solved by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the work 20 will be supported on any suitableframework such as one which is made up of a pair of box-shaped units 24fixed at a given distance from each other on the platform 26 of acarriage 28 which has wheels 30 riding on tracks 32. As is particularlyapparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the work supports 24 fixedly carry at theirlower side edges angle members 34 provided with clamping screws 36 whichpress against the bottom surface of the platform 26 so that is this waythe supports 24 can be fixed at a selected distance from each other onthe platform 26. FIG. 4 also illustrates the V-grooves of acorresponding cross-sectional configuration. The supports 24respectively carry at their ends which are directed toward each other apair of work-engaging substantially rigid strips 38 on which theopposite ends of the plate rest. The plate 20 is shown in this positionin FIG. 3. Thus, the supports 24 will be spaced from each other by adistance corresponding to the length of the plate 20 in the particularexample illustrated.

Although various arrangements could be used to move the carriage 28along work and return strokes, in the illustrated example a suitablesupport 40 fixedly carries a cylinder 42 which houses a reciprocatingpiston 43 having cables 44 secured to the opposite ends thereof. Theopposite ends of the cables 44 are secured to bracket 46 fixed to thecarriage 28, the cables being trained over companion pulleys 47 carriedby brackets 49 secured to the support 40. In response to the action of ahydraulic or pneumatic fluid under pressure against piston 43, thecarriage 28 and the structure therein can be moved through a given workstroke and then can be quickly returned through a corresponding returnstroke through cables 44 connected to the carriage.

The forward carriage 24 carries a switch-actuating projection 48, andthe rear support 24 carries a switch-actuating projection 50 which is atan elevation higher than the projection 48. While the elevations of theprojections and 50 may remain unchanged, these projections can beadjustably fixed in any suitable way to the supports 24 at preselectedpositions therealong, in the direction of movement of the carriage 28,so that in this way proper timing can be achieved for a given job. Asuitable control assembly which is situated to one side of the tracks 32carries a series of three switches 52 to be successively actuated by theprojection 48 and a series of three switches 54 to be successivelyactuated by the projection 50. Thus, these switches are situated in thepath of movement of the projections 48 and 50 to be actuated thereby, asis particularly apparent from FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

The supporting structure extends over the work 20 and carries, in theillustrated example, three silicon covered rollers 56 of variousdurometers which form the roller means for achieving the heat-ironing ofthe foil 22 to the surface, such as the surface of the plate 20 in theillustrated example. These rollers 56 are interchangeably carried in aknown way on suitable supports so that one set of rollers may be changedfor rollers of different durometers and diameters, as required for thetreatment of different materials. The heating and ironing rollersthrough which the heat and pressure is applied to the foil are heated ina purely conventional manner and are actuated also pneumatically orhydraulically by way of the fluid-pressure units 58. The manner in whichthe rollers 56 are supported enables them to conform them to any slightvariations in the surface of the work so that the foil will be reliablyadhered thereto. Inasmuch as the heat-ironing rollers 56 and thestructure 58 for actuating these rollers is conventional and well-known,further details thereof are not described.

In a manner which is well-known in the art when the projection 48actuates the first switch 52, which is the left switch 52 of FIGS. 1 and3, the left roller 56 will be advanced downwardly to apply heat andpressure through the carrier to the foil for adhering the latter to theupper surface of the work 20. During engagement of the second and thirdswitches 52 the second and third rollers 56 will be advanced downwardlyto their working positions. When the switch-actuating projection 50engages the first of the switches 54, which is the left switch 54 ofFIGS. 1 and 3, the first or left roller 56 will be returned upwardly toits rest position and the successive actuation of the next switches 54will bring about the successive return of the next following rollers 56to their initial rest positions. Inasmuch as these controls andoperations also are conventional they are not further described.

As was indicated above, the foil 22 is initially carried by a flexiblecarrier in the form of a plastic sheet material, for example, which havethe same width as the foil 22 and which has the latter temporarilyjoined to a surface of the carrier which is directed downwardly towardthe work during the operations. This composite carrier and foil strip isderived initially from a supply roll 60 which is in the form of a spoolhaving a hollow tubular core on which the composite carrier and foil areinitially wound. This spool has a pair of end flanges 62 and a rod 64 ispassed through the hollow core of the spool in order to support thelatter. The left flange 62 of FIG. 1 engages a collar which is fixed tothe rod 64 and which is not visible, while a sleeve 66 is fixed on therod 64 by way of a set screw 68. The sleeve 66 is pressed against theright flange 62 of the spool, as viewed in FIG. 1, in such a way that agiven frictional resistance to turning of the spool is achieved byrubbing of the flanges against the collar and sleeve. The rod 64 isreleasably fixed to a pair of side bars 70 which form part of aswingable frame of the invention for a purpose described below.

From the spool 60 the carrier and foil composite strip is guided arounda lower rod 72 carried by the side bars 70 of the swingable frame 74,and from the rod 72 the composite carrier and foil strip is directedalong the lower part of a guide roller 76 supported for rotary movementon any suitable brackets or bars which are carried by the supportingstructure. From the guide roller 76 the composite strip extends beneaththe roller means 56 and is guided around a stripping roller 78 supportedfor free rotary movement between a pair of side walls 80 of a shiftingmeans 82. The details of the shifting means are described below.

After passing around the stripping roll 78, the composite strip isguided around a plurality of guide rolls to be directed thereby totake-up roll 84. Thus, as may be seen from FIG. 3 in particular, thereare a plurality of guide rolls 86 supported for free rotary movementabout their axes, which remain stationary, on suitable brackets whichare fixedly carried by a stationary framework 88 of the apparatus.Between these rolls 86 and the stripper roll 78 is an additional pair ofguide rolls 90 and 92.

As is best shown in FIG. 5, the carrier 94, after it is peeled from thefoil 22 in a manner described below, extends around the stripper roll 78and from the latter around the lower guide roll 92 in the manner shown.From the guide roll 92 the carrier is guided around the next upper guideroll 90 so as to extend from the latter to the series of guide rolls 86shown most clearly in FIG. 3. In this way the carrier is directed to thetakeup spool 84.

The guide roll 90 is supported for free rotary movement about its axisbetween a pair of substantially rigid arms 95 carried by the stationarysupporting structure. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 7, the reducedends of the roll 90 are received in bearing sleeves 96 whichrespectively extend through aligned opening of a pair of triangularplates 98 which are held together by connecting rods 100 so as to form acradle 102 which is freely swingable about the axis of the roll 90. Thelower guide roll 92 is supported for free rotary movement between theside plates 98 of the cradle 102.

The side walls 80 of the shifting means 82 are fixedly connected to eachother by a transverse plate 104 which has elongated extensions 106 inthe walls 80. (FIG. 1.) These extensions 106 and the upper surface ofthe plate 104 situated behind the extensions 106 form a cam means for apurpose referred to below.

The opposed side walls 80 of the shifting means 82 are fixed at theirtop ends to axially bored bars 108 through which a pair of horizontalparallel guide rods 110 slidably extend. These rods 110 are fixedlycarried by the framework 88. A transverse bar 112 extends between thebars 108 and has an upwardly extending lug fixed to a piston rod 115situated in a cylinder 1 17 adapted to be hydraulically or pneumaticallyactuated for the purpose of advancing the shifting means 82 first to theleft, so that the camming plate structure 104, 106 will cam the cradle102 into the position indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7, and of course thisfluid-pressure means 115, 117 is also actuated to return the parts tothe position shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5.

As is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the take-up roll 84 is in the form ofa spool corresponding to the spool of the supply roll 60 but receivingonly the carrier strip 94. The spool 84 is fixed in any suitable way ona rod 119 the left end of which, as viewed in FIG. 4, is freely turnablein an upwardly directed notch of a plate 121 fixed to a bar of theframework 88 in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The opposite end ofthe rod 119 extends into a hollow sleeve 123. This sleeve is provided atits left end, as viewed in FIG. 4, with an axial notch which receives apin 114 fixed to and projecting laterally from the rod 119 so that thelatter is constrained to turn with the sleeve 123. This sleeve 123 isdriven through a drive 116 from any suitable motor and gear transmissionand including a slip clutch, so that if there is sufficient resistanceto movement of the carrier 94 onto the spool 84 the latter together withthe rod 119 will not be turned, and in fact with this construction it ispossible for the carrier 94 to be advanced in a direction in which itunwinds to some extent from the spool 84, for a purpose referred tobelow.

In a manner which has been described above the supply roll 60 is carriedby the swingable frame 74. The side bars 70 of the frame 74 arepivotally supported at their top ends from a horizontal rod 118 carriedby suitable blocks on the framework of the machine. The bars 70 are alsointerconnected by a transverse bar 120 pivotally connected to a pistonrod 122 which is fixed to a piston situated within a cylinder 124 whichis supported for swinging movement about a horizontal axis by theassembly 126 shown in FIG. 3. This pneumatic or hydraulic assembly 122,124 is such that initially it provides only a small resistance toswinging of the frame 70 and the rolls 60 therewith between the startingposition shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 and the end position shown indotted lines in FIG. 3. However, through suitable controls which are notillustrated at the proper time fluid under pressure is introduced intothe cylinder 124 to return the frame 74 from its vertical end positionto its inclined starting position.

The above-described structure of the invention operates, to carry outthe method of the invention, in the following manner:

Assuming that a supply roll is carried by the swingable frame 74 andthat the composite strip is threaded through the apparatus in the mannerdescribed above so as to be received on the take-up roll 84, then when acycle of operations is to be carried out the operator will place aworkpiece on the ledges 38 between the supports 24 in the manner shownin FIG. 3. With the apparatus thus set up to carry out a cycle ofoperations, the operator will close a suitable starting switch, and nowthe apparatus of the invention will operate automatically to carry outthe method of the invention. The closing of the starting switch willintroduce fluid under pressure into the cylinder 42 so as to push thepiston rod 44 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 3, and in this way theworking stroke of the work 20 is started. The work 20, and the structurewhich carries the same, will be advanced along a predetermined workingstroke to the right, as viewed in FIG. 3. The projection 48 will firstengage the left switch 52, and the result is that the left or firstroller 56 is lowered to its operating position. The parts are shown inFIG. 8 at this initial phase of the operations where the projection 48has just moved beyond the first switch 52, and the first pressure roller56 has been displaced down to its operating position to commence theheat-ironing of the foil 22 to the plate 20 so as to adhere thereto.

The carriage 28 continues to advance along its working stroke to theright from the position of FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 9 so that theprojection 48 will now actuate the second switch 52, with the resultthat the next heat-ironing roller 56 is displaced downwardly. It will benoted that in the meantime the work has advanced beneath the firstroller 56 which is now directly over the plate 20 inwardly from theleading end thereof.

As was pointed out above, the supply spool 60 is located between acollar and the sleeve 66 in a manner according to which this collar andsleeve frictionally press against the flanges 62 so as to provide agiven resistance to turning of the supply roll. This resistance is greatenough to prevent winding of the strip onto the take-up roll 84 eventhough the motor which actuates the drive 116 is operating. In otherwords the transmission through the unillustrated slip clutch of thedrive 116 is such that the force which tends to rotate the take-up spool84 is not sufficient of itself to unwind the composite strip from thesupply roll 60. As a result even though the drive to the take-up spool84 is operating when the starting switch is turned on, the slip clutchdoes not transmit a force sufficient to overcome this resistance toturning of the supply roll 60, so that no advance of the composite stripfrom the supply roll 60 takes place when the parts are in the positionof FIG. 3.

However, as soon as the first heat-ironing roller 56 moves down to theoperating position shown in FIG. 8, the composite strip is pressedthereby against the top surface of the right support 24 in the region ofthe leading edge of the work 20, and since the carriage 28 is movingalong its working stroke toward the right, as viewed in FIGS. 8 and 9,the presure of the composite strip against the advancing work-supportingstructure is sufficient to start the withdrawal of the composite stripfrom the supply roll 60. Thus, as the carriage now advances beyond theposition shown in FIG. 8, the carrier 94 will be fed to the take-upspool 84 while being stripped from the foil 22. Thus, when the parts arein the position shown in FIG. 9 where the second roll 56 has beendisplaced downwardly to its operating position, the carriage 28 and allof the parts carried thereby continues to move to the right along theworking stroke while the first 9 where 56 adheres the foil by heat andpressure to the surface of the work 20 and at the same time the carrier94 is progressively peeled from. the upper surface of the foil and woundonto the take-up spool in a fully continuous manner. The second,intermediate roller 56 repeats the operations performed by the firstroller 56 so as to provide additional heat and pressure for increasingthe securing of the adhesion derived by way of the first roller 56 andso as to eliminate any slight air pockets which may remain after thework has moved to the right beyond the first or left roller 5 6.

The operations will now continue with continuous winding of the strippercarrier 94 onto the take-up roll 84. The stripping takes place by a verygradual raising of the carrier first upwardly around the roller 56 ofFIG. 8, then upwardly around the next roller 56 shown in FIG. 9, thecarrier being guided around the stripping roller 78 which has anelevation which brings about the slight upward incline of the carrier sothat it is gradually and progressively peeled from the foil. As may beseen in FIG. 10, during the continued movement of the carriage 28 alongits working stroke the projection 48 will actuate the third and lastswitch 52 so as to cause the third and last roller 56 to move down tothe operating position shown in FIG. 10, and now the carrier 94 willmove just beyond this last roller 56 upwardly toward the strippingroller 78 and around the latter to progress to the take-up roller 84 inthe manner described above.

The operations will now continue through the projection of the partsshown in FIG. 11 where the upper projection 50 has not yet reached thefirst of the switches 54. Thus, the successive heat-ironing rollers 56will successively act to provide a very reliable adhesion of the foil tothe work with any possible air bubbles or the like completelyeliminated, and the carrier is continuously stripped from the foil inthe manner described above.

Moreover, as was indicated above, when the operations are started theresistance to movement of the piston rod 122 into the cylinder 124 isrelatively small. Therefore when the first roller 56 moves to theposition of FIG. 8 the composite strip is compelled to move togetherwith the work 20 without any relative movement between the foil and thework 20 at this time. Because of the relatively low resistance in thefluid-pressure assembly 122, 124 at this time and because of therelatively high friction acting on the supply roll 60 in the mannerdescribed above, the swing frame 74 is swung in a counterclockwisedirection from the position of FIG. 8, so that the swing frame 74 startsto swing from its initial starting position toward its vertical endposition, and it will be noted that by the time the parts have reachedthe position shown in FIG. 11 the swing frame 74 has reached itsvertical end position, and of course now the pressure provided by way ofthe rollers 56 is sufficient to overcome the frictional resistance toturning of the roller 60 on the rod 64, with the result that thecomposite strip is unwound from the supply spool. The bracket which isconnected to the rod 122 engages the left end of the cylinder 124 so asto limit the movement of the swing frame to the vertical end positionshown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, with the frame schematically shown inthis position in FIG. 1 1.

As soon as the upper projection 50 actuates the first switch 54, thefirst roll 56 will be retracted up to its rest position, as indicated inFIG. 12. It will be noted that this first switch 54 is actuated by theprojection 50 only after the work has progressed beyond the first roll56. During the continued advance of the carriage 28 the next switches 54will be actuated by the projection 50, so that in a well-known mannerthe next rolls 56 will be successively raised to their initial restpositions, as respectively illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14.

As may be seen from FIG. 14, just after the third and last roller 56 israised the work still has not advanced to a location where the carrier94 has been completely peeled from the foil which adheres to the work20. However, according to one of the important features of the inventionthe work stroke is terminated when the carriage 28 reaches the positionshown in FIG. 14. At this time fluid under pressure is introduced intothe cylinder 117 so as to displace the rod 115 to the left, as viewed inFIG. 1, and the result is that the shifting means 82 will now displacethe stripper roller 78 to the left. As a result the camming extension106 of the plate 104 will engage the edge of the side wall 98 which isvisible in FIG. 6 to cam the cradle 102 in a clockwise direction fromthe position of FIG. into the position of FIG. 6, thus raising the guideroll 92 from the position of FIG. 5 to the position of FIG. 6.Therefore, immediately after the roller 92 has first been raised bymovement of the roller 78 beneath the roller 92 as a result of theaction of the fluid introduced into the cylinder 117, the cammingstructure 106, 104 will act on the cradle 102 so as to raise the guideroll 92 further up to the elevation shown in FIG. 6. At the same timethe stripping roll 78 continues to advance to the left along its workingstroke, and this stripping roll 78 is advanced in this way all the wayup to the position indicated in FIG. 15. At this the stripping roll 78is situated beyond the work 20 so that the stripping operations arecompleted and the composite strip made up of the foil and carrier is nowlocated beneath the stripping roll 78 which is at the end of its strokein FIG. 15.

It will be seen that as a result of this feature the strippingoperations take place first by movement of the work and foil withrespect to the stripping roll and then by movement of the stripping rollwith respect to the foil and work. Because of this method and apparatusof the invention, the extent to which the stripping roll 78 is advancedby the shifting means to the left from the position of FIG. 14 to theposition of FIG. 15 reduces the required working stroke for the carriage28 by the same extent. As a result the length required for the entireapparatus can be reduced and it is possible to provide with thestructure of the invention a relatively short apparatus which can beaccommodated in a small space. Moreover, since the working stroke forthe carriage 28 and the parts carried thereby is reduced, with part ofthe stripping operations taking place by way of the shifting means andthe movement of the stripping roll 78, the movements are distributedamong a greater number of elements which consequently wear to a lesserextent, thus increasing the life of the apparatus. Also, as soon as theroll 78 reaches the position of FIG. 15, the controls can very quicklyreturn the carriage 28 to its starting position, and since this returnmovement also requires a shorter stroke the time required for return isreduced.

It is to be noted that once the parts have reached the position shown inFIG. 14 where the last roller 56 has been raised the slip clutch and thedrive to the take-up roll 84 does not transmit a power sufficient tocontinue the movement of the carrier 94 onto the take-up roll, so thatthe unwinding of the strip from the supply roll will terminate when theparts reach the position shown in FIG. 14. Therefore, the stripper roll78 in shifting from the position of FIG. 14 to the position of FIG. 15will simply peel the carrier from the stationary foil until the foilwhich has not adhered to the carrier rises upwardly away from the leftsupport 24 together with the carrier. At this time the leading edge ofthe foil will be situated in the region beneath the right or last roller56 shown in FIG. 15. TI-Ie fluid pressure to the cylinder 117 is nowreversed so that the shifting means will be retracted back to itsinitial position. In this way the stripping roll 78 returns to itsinitial position shown most clearly in FIG. 5. Also, at this time fluidunder pressure is introduced into the cylinder 124 so as to displace thepiston rod 122 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, thus returning theswing frame 74 from its end position to its inclined starting position.Because of the frictional resistance to turning of the supply rolls 60,the composite strip which extends up to the region beneath the rightroller 56 of FIG. 15 and the carrier extending therefrom to the take-uproll are moved in a reverse direction to the left, as viewed in FIG. 15.The result is that the leading edge of the foil is backed up to becomelocated beneath the first or left roller 56 before the next cycle ofoperations is started. If this backing up of the leading edge of thefoil were not carried out, then the foil would extend beneath the seriesof rollers 56 when the operations start, so that a length of foilcorresponding to the distance between the first and last of the rollers56 would be wasted at each operating cycle. However, because the leadingedge of the foil is backed up from its end position situated beneath thelast roll 56 to a starting position situated beneath the first roller56, a substantial amount of foil is saved at each cycle of operations,and inasmuch as a large number of these cycles take place, one after theother, a very substantial economy is achieved in this way.

Thus, all of the parts will be returned to their starting positions, thecompleted work formed by the plate 20 and the foil 22 adhering theretowill be removed, and now a new plate 20 can be placed on the ledges 38so that the above operations can be repeated.

It will thus be seen that considerable advantage is achieved with themethod and apparatus of the invention not only by the continuous windingof the carrier onto the take-up roll during stripping of the carrierfrom the foil, but in addition, considerable advantages are achieved bythe movement of the stripping roll from the position of FIG. 14 to theposition of FIG. 15 and by the swinging of the supply roll between itsstarting and end positions as described above. It is furthermore to benoted that a substantial portion of the carrier is maintained inengagement with the foil after the latter has been adhered to the workby the rollers 56. Thus, from the first to the last roller 56 there willbe a given increment of foil which adheres to the work before thecarrier is stripped from the foil, and as the carriage 28 advances fromthe position of FIG. 10 toward the position of FIG. 11 and beyond to thepositions of FIGS. 12-14, the carrier initially remains in engagementwith the foil after moving beyond the last roller 56 because of theslight elevation of the stripping roll 78 so that not only does agradual peeling of the carrier progressively take place from the foilbut in addition this operation provides a curing interval before actualpeeling of the carrier from the foil.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of adhering to a given surface a foil which is initiallycarried by a flexible carrier at one face of the latter, the steps ofheat-ironing the foil to the surface by applying heat and pressurethrough the carrier to the foil while the foil engages but does not movewith respect to the surface, and continuously winding the carrier onto atake-up roll while progressively peeling the carrier from the foilsubsequent to heat-ironing thereof to said surface, so that said carrieris progressively stripped from the foil while he latter adheres to thesurface, said heat-ironing being brought about by a plurality of rollerswhich sequentially bring about heat-ironing of the foil to the surfaceand with the edge of the foil at the end of one complete cycle ofoperation being situated in the region of the last of the rollers whichis actuated, and backing said edge of the foil to the region of thefirst of the rollers to be actuated prior to the next operating cycle sothat foil waste is reduced.

2. In a method of adhering to a given surface a foil which is initiallycarried by a flexible carrier at one face of the latter, the steps ofheat-ironing the foil to the surface by applying heat and pressurethrough the carrier to the foil while the foil engages but does not movewith respect to the surface, and continuously winding the carrier onto atake-up roll while progressively peeling the carrier from the foilsubsequent to heat-ironing thereof to said surface, so that said carrieris progressively stripped from the foil while the latter adheres to thesurface, the stripping of the carrier from the foil being carried out intwo operations during one of which the surface and foil are movedtogether with respect to a stripping roll around which the carrier movesto the take-up roll and during the other of which the stripping roll ismoved with respect to the surface and foil which remain stationary,during the continuous take-up of the carrier onto the take-up roll,whereby the stroke required for the surface and foil is diminished tothe extent that the stripping roll moves with respect thereto duringsaid other operation.

3. In an apparatus for adhering to a given surface a foil whichinitially is carried at one face of a flexible carrier, feed means forfeeding the surface along a given stroke, roller means coacting withsaid feed means for heat-ironing the foil to the surface during feedingof the latter along said stroke while applying heat and pressure to thefoil through the carrier by way of said roller means, and take-up meanscontinuously winding the carrier onto a take-up roll subsequent toheatironing of the foil to the surface for continuously peeling thecarrier from the foil, said take-up means including a stripper rollaround which the carrier extends and guide rolls directing the carrierfrom the stripper roll to the take-up roll, said feed means feeding thesurface through a stroke shorter than the distance required tocompletely strip the carrier from the foil which adheres to the surface,and shifting means coacting with said stripper roll for shifting thelatter through the remainder of said required distance so that thelength of the apparatus is shortened to the extent that the stripperroll is moved by said shifting means.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said stripping roll isinitially located on one side of the first of the series of guide rollswhich receive the carrier from the stripping roll, and cam meansactuated by said shifting means and coacting with said first guide rollfor camming the latter upwardly to a higher operating position whilesaid stripping roll is shifted by said shifting means beneath and pastsaid first guide roll to the opposite side thereof.

5. The combination of claim 4 and, said combination further comprising acradle carries said first guide roll and a bracket supports said cradlefor swinging movement together with said first guide roll in response tothe action of camming means.

6. In an apparatus for adhering to a given surface a foil whichinitially is carried at one face of a flexible carrier, feed means forfeeding the surface along a given stroke, roller means coacting withsaid feed means for heat-ironing the foil to the surface during feedingof the latter along said stroke while applying heat and pressure to thefoil through the carrier by way of said roller means, and take-up meanscontinuously winding the carrier onto a take-up roll subsequent toheatironing of the foil to the surface for continuously peeling thecarrier from the foil, said roller means including a series of rollerslocated one after the other along the path of movement of the surfaceand foil by said feed means, and actuating means cooperating with saidseries of rollers for subsequently actuating the latter for heat-ironingthe foil to the surface by applying heat and pressure to the foilthrough the carrier by each of said series of rollers.

7. The combination of claim 6, a supply roll from which the carrier andfoil are supplied, a swingable frame supporting said supply roll forswinging movement toward said roller means, said frame and supply rollswinging from a given starting position to a given end position duringheat-ironing of the foil to the surface by said roller means, and returnmeans coacting with said frame for swinging the latter and said supplyroll from said end position back to said starting position to reduce theextent to which the foil is wasted.

8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein the distance through whichsaid swingable frame displaces said foil carrier between starting andend positions of said frame and supply roll corresponds approximately tothe distance between the first and last of the series of rollers of saidroller means.

1. In a method of adhering to a given surface a foil which is initiallycarried by a flexible carrier at one face of the latter, the steps ofheat-irOning the foil to the surface by applying heat and pressurethrough the carrier to the foil while the foil engages but does not movewith respect to the surface, and continuously winding the carrier onto atake-up roll while progressively peeling the carrier from the foilsubsequent to heat-ironing thereof to said surface, so that said carrieris progressively stripped from the foil while the latter adheres to thesurface, said heat-ironing being brought about by a plurality of rollerswhich sequentially bring about heat-ironing of the foil to the surfaceand with the edge of the foil at the end of one complete cycle ofoperation being situated in the region of the last of the rollers whichis actuated, and backing said edge of the foil to the region of thefirst of the rollers to be actuated prior to the next operating cycle sothat foil waste is reduced.
 2. In a method of adhering to a givensurface a foil which is initially carried by a flexible carrier at oneface of the latter, the steps of heat-ironing the foil to the surface byapplying heat and pressure through the carrier to the foil while thefoil engages but does not move with respect to the surface, andcontinuously winding the carrier onto a take-up roll while progressivelypeeling the carrier from the foil subsequent to heat-ironing thereof tosaid surface, so that said carrier is progressively stripped from thefoil while the latter adheres to the surface, the stripping of thecarrier from the foil being carried out in two operations during one ofwhich the surface and foil are moved together with respect to astripping roll around which the carrier moves to the take-up roll andduring the other of which the stripping roll is moved with respect tothe surface and foil which remain stationary, during the continuoustake-up of the carrier onto the take-up roll, whereby the strokerequired for the surface and foil is diminished to the extent that thestripping roll moves with respect thereto during said other operation.3. In an apparatus for adhering to a given surface a foil whichinitially is carried at one face of a flexible carrier, feed means forfeeding the surface along a given stroke, roller means coacting withsaid feed means for heat-ironing the foil to the surface during feedingof the latter along said stroke while applying heat and pressure to thefoil through the carrier by way of said roller means, and take-up meanscontinuously winding the carrier onto a take-up roll subsequent toheat-ironing of the foil to the surface for continuously peeling thecarrier from the foil, said take-up means including a stripper rollaround which the carrier extends and guide rolls directing the carrierfrom the stripper roll to the take-up roll, said feed means feeding thesurface through a stroke shorter than the distance required tocompletely strip the carrier from the foil which adheres to the surface,and shifting means coacting with said stripper roll for shifting thelatter through the remainder of said required distance so that thelength of the apparatus is shortened to the extent that the stripperroll is moved by said shifting means.
 4. The combination of claim 3 andwherein said stripping roll is initially located on one side of thefirst of the series of guide rolls which receive the carrier from thestripping roll, and cam means actuated by said shifting means andcoacting with said first guide roll for camming the latter upwardly to ahigher operating position while said stripping roll is shifted by saidshifting means beneath and past said first guide roll to the oppositeside thereof.
 5. The combination of claim 4 and, said combinationfurther comprising a cradle carries said first guide roll and a bracketsupports said cradle for swinging movement together with said firstguide roll in response to the action of camming means.
 6. In anapparatus for adhering to a given surface a foil which initially iscarried at one face of a flexible carrier, feed means for feeding thesurface along a giVen stroke, roller means coacting with said feed meansfor heat-ironing the foil to the surface during feeding of the latteralong said stroke while applying heat and pressure to the foil throughthe carrier by way of said roller means, and take-up means continuouslywinding the carrier onto a take-up roll subsequent to heat-ironing ofthe foil to the surface for continuously peeling the carrier from thefoil, said roller means including a series of rollers located one afterthe other along the path of movement of the surface and foil by saidfeed means, and actuating means cooperating with said series of rollersfor subsequently actuating the latter for heat-ironing the foil to thesurface by applying heat and pressure to the foil through the carrier byeach of said series of rollers.
 7. The combination of claim 6, a supplyroll from which the carrier and foil are supplied, a swingable framesupporting said supply roll for swinging movement toward said rollermeans, said frame and supply roll swinging from a given startingposition to a given end position during heat-ironing of the foil to thesurface by said roller means, and return means coacting with said framefor swinging the latter and said supply roll from said end position backto said starting position to reduce the extent to which the foil iswasted.
 8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein the distance throughwhich said swingable frame displaces said foil carrier between startingand end positions of said frame and supply roll correspondsapproximately to the distance between the first and last of the seriesof rollers of said roller means.